Another IBHOF Induction Boxing Weekend Goes by the Wayside

Canastota, NY — Feb. 2, 2021 (Formal Release): The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced today that due to the many unknowns of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic between now and June and the remaining months of the year, the 2021 Induction Weekend will be postponed until next year.

Next year’s celebration is scheduled for June 9-12, 2022 and will be themed Hall of Fame Weekend Induction Trilogy. The event will honor the classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 when an international event the scale of Induction Weekend can be done safely and without restriction in “Boxing’s Hometown.”

“Following last year’s Induction Weekend cancellation, the Hall of Fame recognizes the importance of pausing another round of induction celebrations,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Edward Brophy. “However, the word trilogy is synonymous with boxing and if there is one sport and one location that could have the perfect setting for an Induction Trilogy, it is the sport of boxing and the place is Canastota.”

“It is so important to honor inductees with all the bells and whistles that the Hall of Fame Weekend is known for, including the intermingling between celebrities and boxing fans, and provide each inductee with the recognition they so richly deserve,” continued Brophy.

The annual voting procedure takes place in the fall of each year and the Class of 2022 will be voted on and announced later this year.

The Class of 2020 includes boxers Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manuel Marquez, “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Frank Erne, Paddy Ryan, Barbara Buttrick, Christy Martin, and Lucia Rijker, promoters Lou DiBella, Kathy Duva, and Dan Goossen and journalists Bernard Fernandez and Thomas Hauser.

The Class of 2021 includes boxers Wladimir Klitschko, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Ward, Laila Ali, Ann Wolfe, Mirian Trimiar, Jackie Tonawanda, and Davey Moore, cut man Freddie Brown, physician Dr. Margaret Goodman, trainer / manager Jackie McCoy, journalist George Kimball, and television executive Jay Larkin.

The official 2022 Hall of Fame Weekend Induction Trilogy schedule of events and ticket purchasing information will be released later this year and will be the most highly anticipated event in Hall of Fame history.

For more information, please call the International Boxing Hall of Fame at (315) 697-7095 or visit on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

—–

Editor’s Notes: Losing the Induction Weekend even once, let alone twice, is a big blow not only to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, but to the surrounding communities. The annual June jamboree reportedly draws as many tourists to the village of Canastota (pop: 5,000) as in all the other days of the year combined.

In common with other tourist attractions around the country, 2020 was a very rough year for the Canastota shrine. The Hall was closed by the pandemic for three-and-a-half months beginning in mid-March, visitor traffic was down drastically after the re-opening, and fund-raising events had to be postponed.

Several months ago, IBHOF Executive Director Edward Brophy wrote a letter appealing to fight fans to consider a donation to the Hall. “To be honest,” wrote Brophy, “this is the most challenging time in the 31-year history of the Hall of Fame.”

Cognizant that many would-be donors have been hurt by the coronavirus, Brophy addressed the appeal to “those able to do so.”

The International Boxing Hall of Fame is located at exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, approximately 20 minutes from Syracuse. Normal business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel 

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE